Outbreak of deadly storms hit the south

ATHENS, AL (CNN) – A pummeling, on an historic scale, dozens of strong tornadoes have just kept coming; battering southern states in waves, over three days.

Northern Mississippi, northern Alabama have taken the brunt, and strong storms were once again forecast in the region.

Officials are bracing for more hits, while trying to handle dangers from the last round.

“Our main thing is to finish clearing all our roadways, and of course we’ve got a big problem with power poles down all over the southwestern portion of the county,” said Sheriff Mike Blakely, Limestone County, AL.

Power-lines which could still be hot, Sheriff Blakely says, and could injure people who are now picking through the rubble of their homes.

That’s not deterring 13-year old Colin Amerson. Colin, his father and stepmother, were all inside this house, and all somehow survived.

Colin showed CNN the area of the broom closet he jumped into, which like the rest of the home, isn’t there anymore.

“I got my blanket and pillow to cover up. I just thought I’d be a little more comfortable in case it did hit, you know, save me from debris. Soon as I just got down, not even getting’ to cover myself up with the blanket, it just hits and i black out,” said Colin.

It seems most of the people in this neighborhood paid attention to the warnings to get out. Officials were telling people if you live in manufactured homes with light material you had to leave them. But here, it didn’t really matter.

This is what’s left of an apartment complex. And even solidly-built homes in areas like this-were just completely blown away.

Sandra Davis and her husband James saw most of their home pulverized. Sandra was in the duplex with her daughter, son-in-law and grandchild when she heard that terrifying roar. They held on and made it out.

“I was in the bathroom with by dog, hid under a big ‘ol futon and lay close to the floor,” said Sandra.

Reporter: “What is your feeling now about coming back here and living in a place like this?

Sandra: “I won’t live here. There’s no shelter.”

This neighborhood is in a wide-open area, several miles from cover. If a lot of these residents are here, trying to salvage when the next round of storms hits-they would be exposed.